Downingtown’s Stone rocks Patterson Qualifier at Coatesville CC

*Event Photos | *Scorecards

COATESVILLE, Pa. — A rock solid Roger Stone casted a 2-over-par 73 to earn medalist honors in a Joseph H. Patterson Cup Qualifier at Coatesville CC (par 71, 6,450 yards) Thursday. The Downingtown CC member led a field of 72 attempting to grab one of 16 available qualifying positions and ties for the Championship proper, which is set for Aug. 11-12 at White Manor CC.

 A chip-in birdie on No. 12 (par 3, 219 yards) eased Stone onto the medalist path.

“At that point, I wasn’t sweating qualifying,” Stone said. “I just sort of coasted in. I felt relaxed at that point.”

Overall, the Royersford, Pa. resident carded five birdies and seven bogeys on the undulating track. The par 5s nipped Stone early. He missed the green right on No. 1 (par 5, 500 yards) with an 80-yard wedge shot. Stone stopped a chip at seven feet but couldn’t convert the par try. A three-putt from 30 feet on No. 3 (par 5, 536 yards) put Stone two above the blue. He responded by rolling in a three-footer for birdie on No. 4 (par 3, 165 yards) after a crisp 7-iron set-up. Stone ripped a drive on the uphill par 4, 327-yard No. 7. With a mere 30 yards to the flagstick, he hit a wedge to the front of the green and watched it release to a foot. He tapped in for his second red figure.

Stone then experienced a topsy-turvy inward trek. A low-liner approach shot from 90 yards on No. 11 (par 4, 304 yards) crashed into a mound and coasted to 10 feet below the hole. Stone executed the uphill birdie putt.

“I got lucky there,” he said of the approach. “I tried to trap a gap wedge to bring it in low, but I thinned it.”

  A touch of luck met a tad of skill on No. 12 (par 3, 219 yards).Stone’s 4-iron tee shot came up short of the putting surface. Cue the chip-in genesis of his round.

  Feeling relaxed yet reticent, Stone, 29, bogeyed his next two holes to waver out of red figures. He missed the green right on the monstrous par 3, 222-yard 13th hole. Stone’s chip caught the slope and slid 20 feet away from the cup. His par putt never threatened. Stone failed to get up-and-down from the left greenside bunker on No. 14 (par 4, 428). He calmed the chaos with a birdie on the dogleg left No. 15 (par 5, 533 yards). Stone nearly reached the green with his second stroke — a 5-iron from 205 yards. A delicate chip stopped three feet shy.

  Stone, the reigning club champion at Downingtown, stumbled on his final three holes. A three-putt on No. 16 (par 4, 310 yards) and a missed green on No. 17 (par 4, 436 yards) resulted in bogeys. He thought he overcooked a 7-iron approach from 170 yards out on No. 18 (par 4, 389 yards), so he hit a provisional. When Stone arrived at the green, he found his original ball masked by a bed of thick rough. He chipped on and watched his 12-footer to save par break left at the last moment.

  “I couldn’t get that shot close. The lie was so tough,” he said of the chip.

  Work conflicts prevent Stone, a millworker by day, from participating in Golf Association of Philadelphia events on a regular basis. He hopes to make a mark in its final Major of the 2011 season.

  “I’d like to get a Top 15 or a Top 10,” Stone said. “Whatever could be a potential exemption for the next year.”

  At the end of the day, the cut line settled at 78.

  Thursday’s qualifier was the second of two used to determine who will compete in the Championship proper. Spring Mill CC’s James Bea carded a 2-under-par 70 to earn medalist honors in a qualifier at his home course last week.